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Original poster

Can anyone help ? confused about GLOUCOMA .

20 replies

EyeQuestion · 05/12/2022 22:11

A close family member was recently diagnosed with gloucoma . He is male and only 28, and the doctor said he was very unusual and that usually it’s only seen in elderly people .

does anyone have any experience with gloucoma in someone of his age ? He has had hormone problems in the past, and has been recently getting what we believed to be cluster migraine although we are not sure if this is actually because of the gloucoma . Can gloucoma be caused by other problems in the brain or in the body ?

he was diagnosed after a test at Boots discovered the gloucoma at the back of his eye on a photograph, and the test involving air shooting his eye was very concerning . They checked it another way although he wasn’t clear on details, and said it was still too high . It is now being managed, but we are concerned about how this may have started in the first place . It was a shock as he was simply buying an eye test to get some new glasses !

apologies for any spelling mistakes . Just a concerned family member trying to make sense of it all .

OP posts:
Spliffle · 05/12/2022 22:13

I think the glaucoma causes the other issues not the other way round. I stand to be corrected though.

ColinRobinsonsFart · 05/12/2022 22:31

Glaucoma is usually caused by the blockage of the trabecular mesh work which sits at the very edge of the iris and the sclera. It allows the fluid to pass through ( this is internal and not tears). If that mesh work gets blocked, the pressure builds up and presses on the optic nerve at the back of the eye.
your relative has high pressures in his eyes and what sounds like ‘cupping’ of his optic nerve head or discs.
this cupping can damage the optic nerve and cause visual field loss - look at a point and fix on it and you can still see stuff without actually moving your head or eyes - that’s visual field.

opyions are drops for his eyes or a special laser to make a hole in the mesh work.

Coolyule · 05/12/2022 22:34

ColinRobinsonsFart · 05/12/2022 22:31

Glaucoma is usually caused by the blockage of the trabecular mesh work which sits at the very edge of the iris and the sclera. It allows the fluid to pass through ( this is internal and not tears). If that mesh work gets blocked, the pressure builds up and presses on the optic nerve at the back of the eye.
your relative has high pressures in his eyes and what sounds like ‘cupping’ of his optic nerve head or discs.
this cupping can damage the optic nerve and cause visual field loss - look at a point and fix on it and you can still see stuff without actually moving your head or eyes - that’s visual field.

opyions are drops for his eyes or a special laser to make a hole in the mesh work.

Can you get tubes put in the eyes to drain the fluid?

ColinRobinsonsFart · 05/12/2022 22:35

It can be a family thing - passed down. It can be just one of those things. Caught early and well managed - person can get away with little damage and drive. Not caught early and you can end up with tunnel vision and no driving.

i used to be an ophthalmic nurse but retired 20 yrs ago so my knowledge is a bit dated.

ColinRobinsonsFart · 05/12/2022 22:37

Not tubes - the laser punches a hole in the trabecular mesh work. There used to be a small operation where a hole would be cut with a scalpel. The fluid doesn’t t drain out of the eye. It circulates inside.

Holyduster · 05/12/2022 22:40

I’m 38 and was told I had acute angle close glaucoma earlier this year in both eyes. I was told it’s unusual at my age too. I had laser iridotomy in both my eyes. The angles haven’t apparently changed that much but the holes created have increased the drainage so I shouldn’t get an acute attack from what i understand. There are two types of glaucoma though.

MadelineUsher · 05/12/2022 22:41

he was diagnosed after a test at Boots discovered the gloucoma at the back of his eye on a photograph, and the test involving air shooting his eye was very concerning .

Nobody likes that test. It is good they caught it early, as glaucoma will progress to vision loss if left unattended.

Lots of info online. For example:

www.nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/glaucoma

ColinRobinsonsFart · 05/12/2022 22:46

Holyduster · 05/12/2022 22:40

I’m 38 and was told I had acute angle close glaucoma earlier this year in both eyes. I was told it’s unusual at my age too. I had laser iridotomy in both my eyes. The angles haven’t apparently changed that much but the holes created have increased the drainage so I shouldn’t get an acute attack from what i understand. There are two types of glaucoma though.

Yes - open and closed angle glaucoma. Closed has the iridotomy ( a hole made in the iris) or trabeculectomy. The open angle is caused by overproduction of the fluid (iirr - my memory is a bit shit)

Purplepepsi · 05/12/2022 22:47

My Dad has valves in his eyes. The laser didn't work for him. His is non blood pressure related. Means I get free eye test now too!

fortifiedwithtea · 05/12/2022 22:58

OP your relative is the luckiest of unlucky people. 28 is very young for glaucoma but very fortunate Boots detected it.

Glaucoma is in my family. Both my mum and her sister have/had glaucoma . My aunt was affected worse she developed it much younger than my mum and it was more severe. She had shunts put in both eyes. She died more than 20 years ago from various cancers so who knows how the glaucoma would have developed.

As for mum, she has had private treatment as Dad took out insurance. She puts drops in her eyes in the evening. She tells me the side effects are disturbing dreams. At 85 she still only needs glasses for reading.

Anyone with a close family relative affected by glaucoma is entitled to a free annual eye exam from the age of 40.

GreenLunchBox · 05/12/2022 23:00

Unusual in his age. Does he have family history? Is he of Asian origin?

fallfallfall · 05/12/2022 23:00

you can also have normal pressure glaucoma.
i have normal pressure glaucoma and had the laser treatment. quick 10 minutes if that, done in the ophthalmologist's office. painless. i may have to have it repeated in one eye as the results were borderline.
glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness i believe.

Foofedifiknow · 05/12/2022 23:04

Coolyule · 05/12/2022 22:34

Can you get tubes put in the eyes to drain the fluid?

Show quote history

Yes you can get tube surgery but
it is usually not done first - usually the mesh work hole surgery is done first.
the tube surgery is still relatively new
often it’s controlled with drops alone

justasking111 · 05/12/2022 23:16

Mine is hereditary and complicated. After the trabulectomy and cataract operation I developed malignant glaucoma it's to do with the shape of my eye. I then had a vitrectomy which failed so emergency operation four days later a laser surgery. I'm now being treated with steroid injections and drops.

I'm now on latanoprost 1 x daily, atropine 1x ' brinzolamide X2 daily, pred forte 3x daily, yellox 3x daily.

It's a Bloody nuisance I'm now short sighted. I've more operation to come. BUT I think I'm unusual. The first twenty five years were quite uneventful. Medicine is advancing all the time

ColinRobinsonsFart · 05/12/2022 23:17

Foofedifiknow · 05/12/2022 23:04

Yes you can get tube surgery but
it is usually not done first - usually the mesh work hole surgery is done first.
the tube surgery is still relatively new
often it’s controlled with drops alone

Show quote history

I didn’t know about tubes! You have taught me something this evening - thank you 🙏

Original poster
EyeQuestion · 05/12/2022 23:23

No, he is not Asian- he is white .

He was mainly frightened that it is a problem in his brain causing it , as he was under the impression from the hospital that he shouldn’t have gloucoma at his age . would the cluster headaches cause gloucoma or is that because of gloucoma ? He went straight from Boots to the hospital as they were concerned about what they found , he was told the air shooting into his eye was too high .

OP posts:
Original poster
EyeQuestion · 06/12/2022 14:50

i am this trying to bump this post up the boards in case anyone else sees it .

OP posts:
Iwantmyoldnameback · 06/12/2022 14:57

I have had glaucoma since I was for 37 years, it is controlled by drops. I have no worse than the usual age deterioration in my eyesight. Recently I have been told I have occular hypertension who is I believe pressure in the eye without damage. B

newtb · 06/12/2022 15:13

XH had it after several iritis attacks, and bleeding from his choroid. Eventually hé found out hé had an auto-immune disorder, sarcoidosis. A lung disease, but it can affect any organ in the body.

Original poster
EyeQuestion · 13/12/2022 20:09

Posting an update in case anyone is about he has seen another doctor who said gloucoma should not effect him as he is not the correct age for that but he has all the signs of it . we are still concerned about possible problems with his brain but have been reassured this is nothing to do with gloucoma and cant cause gloucoma so that is a relief . if anyone else reading this knows anything about gloucoma please comment .

OP posts:
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